Joseph Salerno
Associate Professor
Department of Philosophy
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis, MO, USA
Education
Ohio State University. Ph.D. awarded in 1999. Dissertation Committee: Neil Tennant, Robert Kraut, Stewart Shapiro
Academic Positions
Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Saint Louis University, August 2008-Present.
Visiting Professor, University of Frankfurt. May 2017.
Visiting Professor, University of Frankfurt. May 2011.
Visiting Researcher, Institut Jean Nicod, ENS, Paris France, 2010-2011.
Visiting Fellow, Philosophy Program, RSSS, Australian National University, Summer 2009.
Research Fellow, Philosophy Program, RSSS, Australian National University, Fall 2008.
Visiting Fellow, Philosophy Program, RSSS, Australian National University, August 2007- August 2008.
Visiting Professor, University of Frankfurt. 2006.
Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Saint Louis University, 2002–2008.
Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, Texas A&M University, 2000–2002.
Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, William Paterson University, 1999–2000.
Areas of Research
Epistemology, History and Philosophy of Logic.
Selected Publications
“Suppositional Attitudes and the Reliability of Heuristics for Assessing Conditionals.” (2022). Thought: a Journal of Philosophy 11(3): 175-183. (Online first: Feb 2024)
“Knowability and a New Happiness Paradox” (2018). in H. van Ditmarsch and G. Sandu (eds.), Jaakko Hintikka on Knowledge and Game-Theoretic Semantics. Springer.
“Epistemic Modal Disagreement” (2017). w/ J. Katz. Topoi 36:1.
“Epistemic Modals and Modus Tollens” (2016). Philosophical Studies 173:10.
"The Knowability Paradox" in S. Bernecker, and D. Pritchard (ed.), The Routledge Companion to Epistemology, Routledge, 2013.
"Remarks on Counterpossibles" with B. Brogaard, Synthese 190. 2013.
"Fitch's Paradox of Knowability" with B. Brogaard, in Zalta, E. (ed.), Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Winter 2002, Summer 2004, and Winter 2013 Editions.
"Truth-tracking and the Problem of Reflective Knowledge" in Keim-Campbell J. and M. O'Rourke (eds.), Topics in Contemporary Philosophy, Volume 5: Knowledge and Skepticism, MIT Press, 2010.
"Knowability Noir: 1945-1963' in Salerno J. (ed.) New Essays on the Knowability Paradox, Oxford University Press, 2009.
New Essays on the Knowability Paradox, (ed.), Oxford University Press, 2009.
"Knowability, Possibility and Paradox" with B. Brogaard, in V. Hendricks and D. Pritchard (eds.), New Waves in Epistemology, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
"Counterfactuals and Context" with B. Brogaard, Analysis 68:1, 2008.
"Knowability and a Modal Closure Principle" with B. Brogaard, American Philosophical Quarterly, 43(3), 2006.
"Anti-realism, Theism and the Conditional Fallacy" with B. Brogaard, Noûs, 39(1), 2005.
"Clues to the Paradoxes of Knowability: Reply to Dummett and Tennant" with B. Brogaard, Analysis, 62(2), 2002.
"Revising the Logic of Logical Revision", Philosophical Studies, 99(2), 2000.
Presentations
“Epistemic Counterpossibilism” keynote presentation at the University of Missouri Graduate Student Philosophy Conference. April 2024.
“Suppositional Attitudes and the Reliability of Heuristics for Assessing Conditionals” presented to the Pacific Division of the APA. Portland, March 2024.
“Epistemic Modal Disagreement” Buffalo Experimental Philosophy Workshop. SUNY Buffalo. NY. Fall 2015.
“Epistemic Modal Disagreement” Epistemology Workshop at Saint Louis University. Spring 2015.
"Epistemic Modal Eavesdropping: a straight solution to a relativist challenge" presented at the Epistemology Brown Bag Series at Northwestern University, October 24th, 2012.
"Indicative conditionals and embedded epistemic modals" presented to the 1st Milano-Paris Workshop on Mind and Language, in Milan Italy on May 28, 2011.
"Embedded Epistemic Modals", presented to the Metaphysics and Logic Group, Goethe University of Frankfurt, April 19, 2011.
“Some Modal Epistemic Disagreements" presented to the Context, Perspective & Relativity workshop at the Jean-Nicod Institute, Paris France, February 28, 2011.
“Epistemic Modals in Action" presented to the KnowJust research group at the Institut Jean-Nicod, Paris France, January 28, 2011.
“Epistemic Modals: Relativism and Ignorance” presented at the Midwest Epistemology Workshop, Saint Louis University, September 25, 2009.
“Relativism and Ignorance” Themes from Crispin Wright, workshop at Australian National University, July 16, 2009.
“Embedded Epistemic Modals” present to the Australasian Association of Philosophy, Melbourne, Australia, July 2009.
“Embedded Epistemic Modals” RSSS Philosophy Seminar, Australian National University, May 21, 2009.
“Propositions as Hyperintensions” with B. Brogaard, Hyperintensionality and Impossible Worlds, workshop at Australian National University, Nov. 26, 2008.
“Must and Can” presented to the American Philosophical Association, Philadelphia, December, 2008.
"A New Paradox of Happiness" presented to the Philosophy Department at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, August 8, 2008.
"A New Paradox of Happiness" presented to the Philosophy Department at Victoria University, Wellington NZ, August 7, 2008.
"A New Paradox of Happiness" presented to the Philosophy Department at the University of Otago, Dunedin NZ, August 6, 2008.
"Must and Can" presented to the Australasian Association of Philosophy, Melbourne, July 11, 2008.
"A New Paradox of Happiness" presented to the Philosophy Society, Australian National University, May 20, 2008.
"Must and Can" presented at Epistemology at the Beach, Kioloa, Australia, February 15, 2008.
"Counterpossibles, Impossible Worlds and Essence" with B. Brogaard, discussed at the Arizona Ontology Conference. January 2008.
"Counterpossible Conditionals" presented to the Philosophy Seminar at RSSS, Australian National University, November 8.
"Counterpossible Conditionals", presented at the University of Sydney, October 17.
"Counterpossible Conditionals", presented to the Institut d'Histoiri et de Philosophie des Sciences et des Techniques, at Université Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne, October 8, 2007.
"Remarks on Counterpossibles", presented with B. Brogaard, 1st Synthese Annual Conference, Copenhagen, October 3, 2007.
"Remarks on Counterpossibles" with B. Brogaard, Epistemology Workshop, University of Edinburgh, May 15, 2007.
"The Most General Factive Mental State Operator". International Conference on Linguistics and Epistemology, University of Aberdeen. May 12-13, 2007. Keynotes by Kent Bach, Peter Ludlow, Jonathan Schaffer & Jason Stanley.
"Knowability Noir: 1945-1963". NAMICONA Epistemology Workshop, Department of Philosophy, University of Copenhagen. August 22, 2006.
"Knowability Noir: 1945-1963". presented at the Logic Tea to the Institute for Logic, Language, and Computation, University of Amsterdam. May 23, 2006.
"The History and Significance of the Knowability Paradox". colloquium at the Department of Philosophy and Religion at the Goethe University of Frankfurt. May 15, 2006.
"Who Discovered Fitch's Paradox and Why Won't it Go Away?". Pacific Division of the APA. Portland, March 24, 2006.
Commentator: Ali Kazmi
"Knowability, Possibility and Paradox" with B. Brogaard. Book launch event for New Waves in Epistemology. Pacific Division of the APA. Portland, March 24, 2006.
"A Solution to Fitch's Paradox of Knowability" with B. Brogaard. epistemology workshop at the University of Copenhagen. July 30, 2004.
"Contextualism and Subject-Sensitive Invariantism" with B. Brogaard. epistemology workshop at the University of Copenhagen. July 30, 2004.
"Truth-tracking and the Problem of Reflective Knowledge". Inland Northwest Philosophy Conference on Knowledge and Skepticism. April 2004.
"Tracking and Safety: Some Counterexamples". Pacific Division of the APA. March 2004.
"Anti-realism, Theism and the Conditional Fallacy" with B. Brogaard. Central Division of the APA. 2003.
Commentator: Michael Rea.
"To Be is to Be Considered" with B. Brogaard. Presented to the Society for Realist and Anti-realist Discussion. Pacific Division of the APA. 2003.
"Anti-realism and Possibility" with B. Brogaard. Pacific Division of the APA. 2003.